Just quickly to refresh your memories about the background of this letter from Paul to the Philippians. You know, Paul wrote many letters to churches in the New Testament. The letter to the Philippians is very unique in the sense that in most of Paul's letters, if not all of them, he's teaching and he's correcting and he's training and he's sometimes quite cross with these congregations about the sins that are going on, and he has to address false teachings. But in the letter to the Philippians, it's different. There's no correction.
There's no angry words. It's just a big wonderful letter of joy and thanksgiving. In fact, the main theme of this letter is joy. Because Paul was in Rome in prison. He was awaiting a trial in which he and the congregation expected realistically that he was going to be killed.
And so he's in jail there, and the Philippian church heard about it. They sent one of the trusted members, Epaphroditus, with a gift, probably a financial gift, to go and support Paul, but also in whatever other way he might need help. And so Paul uses this opportunity to write back to them, to let them know that he's okay, to thank them for their gift, and to encourage them as well. Paul uses this and I'll probably mention it in a moment again. He uses this opportunity then to teach them something very important, a lesson on contentment.
Now I see that not all the kids have gone to Sunday school. Those younger ones here, do you all know what the word contentment means? I get a not here. That's what I'll try and talk about this morning, on the back of Paul. Contentment.
Now to start us off, let me tell you a little illustration. I read somewhere of an airline pilot who was flying over a mountain range, and among these mountains, there was a beautiful little lake. And he pointed out this lake to his copilot, and he said, you know, when I was a young boy, I used to sit in a tinny boat and fish on that lake down there. And every time that a plane would come flying over, I would so wish that it was me flying that plane. You know, now that I fly the plane, every time I fly over this lake, I wish I was down there in the dinghy with my fishing rod.
Contentment is something that can be so elusive. We can so easily become unhappy with our circumstances, can't we? And we wanna change things. We go after the things that we think will make us happy, the things that we think will make life better for us, only to find out that it didn't work. In fact, after we chased after things for a while and maybe got them, we realised often that we were happier before we started chasing after this.
It's also like the story of two teardrops who were flowing down the river of life. And the one teardrop said to the other one, who are you? And the teardrop said, I'm a teardrop of a girl who loved a man and lost him. And this teardrop asked the other one, but who are you? And she said the other one said, I'm the teardrop of the girl who got him.
Brothers and sisters, the evidence of a lack of contentment all around us is there. It's all around us. We see it in the higher rate of consumer debt in this land. When you see such a higher rate of consumer debt, all that it tells us very clearly is that many people aren't content with what they have. They aren't happy with what they have, and so they go into debt to just be able to live a little bit better than what they can afford.
And then as a result of that or the spin off of that is that people start to suffer anxiety from the pressures of paying all the bills. And, of course, the advertising industry doesn't help because they wanna make us believe that we just cannot be happy if we do not also have their products, and we often fall for that bait. Only to find out that once we bought that product, we have one more thing that can break down or that take up space in the house or that take up some of our very limited time that we have available in our overloaded schedules. We see discontentment in the high rate of divorces in this land. It tells us that people can't work through their issues anymore.
They can't find happiness in their marriages anymore, so they trade their mates for a different model. Only to find out that the same problems occur. In Philippians 4:10-13, we have a man here, the apostle Paul, who is in prison. And listen to these reasons why Paul is in prison or the circumstances of his imprisonment. First of all, he's imprisoned because of corrupt officials.
Secondly, he's awaiting very possible execution. Thirdly, he's awaiting the execution over false charges. He's in prison because of corrupt officials and false charges that could cost him his life, and he tells us about contentment. He tells us in these circumstances, not in retrospect, not looking back on a situation previously in his life where he's out of now. No.
He's in that situation, and he tells us about how to be contented. And when Paul then writes to them and to the Philippians and he teaches them, first of all, Paul wants to express his deep and heartfelt thank you to this congregation, but at the same time, he didn't want them to get the impression that he was discontented, that what the Lord was supplying for him was not sufficient. Yes. He was very thankful for what the Lord has given him even in these situations. Now let's have a look at what contentment is.
In Philippians 4:11, the word contentment appears there, or content. Comes from a Greek word that means self sufficient or independent. Now let's just ask ourselves, is this the way that Paul uses the word contentment? Is he saying something about self sufficiency or independency? I think it's clear to us, folks, that this is not the way Paul uses that word.
Because in 4:10, he showed that he greatly rejoiced in the Lord for the gift that he received from the Philippians, and he wasn't happy. He didn't rejoice because of the gift as much as for the heartfelt love and concern that he felt from these Philippians. He was closely attached to these people. He loved them dearly, and he showed it. And that tells us that Paul didn't use this word in the pagan sense of the word, with the meaning of self sufficiency, because Paul says his sufficiency is in Christ.
Neither does contentment mean complacency. You know, as Christians, we can work to better our circumstances when and where we have the opportunity. And the Bible commands hard work and the rewards that come from hard work. As long as we stay free from greed, as long as greed is not what's behind our hard work and our desire to change things. Paul tells slaves to give, not to give undue concern, in 1 Corinthians 7:21.
He tells them not to give undue concern to gaining their freedom, but if they're able to do so, they should. In the same way, if you're single and you feel lonely, there's nothing wrong with seeking a godly mate as long as you're not so consumed with this quest, with this desire, that you lack sound judgement. So what does contentment mean? I'm going to try and give you a definition of what I think contentment means in the biblical sense. It's an inner sense of rest or peace that comes from being right with God and knowing that He's in control of all that happens to us.
It means having our focus on the kingdom of God and on serving Him and not on the love of money and things. So if God grants us material comforts, if God gives us things that we can enjoy, material things, we can thankfully enjoy them knowing that it came from God's loving, providing father's hand. But, also, we should seek to use those things that God gives us in generous ways in the service of God. And then on the other hand, if God takes our riches away, if He takes things away from us, our joy remains steady because we have our eyes fixed not on the things around us, but on God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the great giver of all these things and the giver of life above all. Contentment also means that we will not be battered around by our difficult circumstances when they come or by people that can sometimes afflict us.
It means that we will not be wrongly seduced by prosperity, again, because our life is not centred on things but on a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. So no matter what happens to us, we have this wonderful, steady assurance that the Lord is for us, and He will never forsake us. And how do you get to this place where you have and live with this contentment in you? How can you get this contentment? The secret for Paul to acquire this blessed contentment lies in knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as three things or in three ways, as sovereign, as the Saviour, and as the sufficient one.
If you know Jesus, brothers and sisters, as the sovereign God, if you know Jesus as your Saviour, and if you know Jesus as your sufficient one, the one who is totally sufficient for you, you will know contentment. Let's look at those three things quickly one by one. He's the sovereign one to whom I must submit. That's the first one. Jesus is the sovereign one to whom I must submit.
That's what Paul did because that's how he knew Jesus. How did that work? Paul mentions that the Philippians had revived their concern for him. Remember? He said you've revived your concern for me now that you've sent this gift.
The word that Paul used there for you have revived your concern for me is the same word that was used for when in springtime the flowers bud again and the trees and all these beautiful colours come out. And Paul then quickly adds to that. He said, but you have always been concerned for me. You just never had the opportunity to show it. Now we don't know what hindered the congregation in Philippi to show their concern for Paul more in the time before this.
We don't know whether they didn't have an appropriate messenger to send. We don't know whether they had their own financial struggles. We just don't know. But what Paul knew is that even in those circumstances, even when they did not have the opportunity or the ability to support him financially, he, Paul, was subject to the sovereign God in this very most practical area of his life. Let's face it.
We all need money, don't we? We all need money. You need to you need money to pay your mortgage. You need money to put fuel in the car. You need money to buy food for your kids, to pay for their schools.
Whatever the case may be, we all need money. It's a very practical area of your lives. Here is Paul in prison. He's running out of things. He doesn't receive anything from this congregation for reasons unknown to us, but he knows that he belongs to the sovereign Lord Jesus Christ whom he trusts.
He wasn't even able to continue his tent making business. And this, Paul describes as an affliction, and yet he doesn't worry. Why? Because he knows the Lord Jesus Christ as the sovereign God who has all things under control. Let me prove it to you.
He wrote a number of letters, as I said before, to the congregations in the New Testament world. In this particular imprisonment of Paul, he wrote to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, and the letter of Philemon. And he asked in all those letters, he asked for prayer. But never once does he mention financial needs. Even though it is a very pressing area of his life, he doesn't ask or talk about his financial needs.
Rather, he asks for prayer, for boldness, and faithfulness as a witness of Jesus Christ because he trusted and submitted himself to the sovereign God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will provide in all his needs. Paul knows, as we'd know, that sometimes God provides abundantly, doesn't He? And I think most often, God provides abundantly. And so Paul says, because sometimes I've experienced God providing abundantly, I have learned to live in prosperity. I've learned to live with a lot.
It's a lesson that some of us might wanna learn, isn't it? To learn how to live well with the prosperity God gives us and not be wasteful. But sometimes, Paul says, I've also experienced God holding back support. And then I had to learn how to live in humble means, with humble means. At those times, Paul didn't panic or grumble.
Again, he knew the Lord Jesus Christ as the sovereign God, trusting that God knew what He was doing. God knew what was best for him, Paul, and God knew, Paul knew that God would look after His children. But just notice, brothers and sisters, that Paul said that he had to learn to be contented in all circumstances. It's not something that comes naturally to us, and it isn't something that came naturally to Paul either. It's a process, something that we learn from walking with God each day.
And the key in this process is understanding that everything, whether it's big or small things, is under God's sovereignty. He uses all our circumstances to train us in godliness if we submit to Him and trust Him. If you're walking with God and you find yourself in a desperate situation, you can know that you're not there by chance. The sovereign God has put you there. He's put you there for the training of your faith so that you might share His holiness.
It may be a small crisis or it may be a major life threatening crisis. Submit and trust to the sovereign God in whatever the circumstance, and you will know the contentment that comes from Him. Secondly, contentment comes from focusing on the Lord Jesus Christ as the Saviour whom I serve. So firstly, we know Jesus as the sovereign one to whom we submit. Secondly, the Saviour whom we serve.
The reason Paul knew that God would meet his needs was because of what Jesus promised. He said in Matthew 6:33, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. All these things, what is all these things that Paul's talking about? All these things refers to what you shall eat, what you shall drink, what you shall wear. Jesus was teaching there that if we will put our focus on serving Him and growing in righteousness, God will take care of our basic material needs.
He's talking about how to be free from anxiety or how to be contented in our souls. And Paul is teaching the same thing here. Our focus, if our focus is on the Saviour and on doing what He has called us to do for His kingdom, which includes growing in personal holiness, then we can be content with what He provides. Now I think it's important that we notice here that Paul's talking about, he says, God will provide in all our needs, not our greeds, because there is a difference. You know, most of us here in Australia live in very luxurious circumstances compared to some other parts of the world.
Even if we have a car only one car or a house which we think is too small, sometimes we need to remember that there are families without houses, homes, or even a room. Those who do have it sometimes have to squeeze a lot of people in a small little place. I read a story about a Jewish man in Hungary who went to his rabbi and he complained. Said, rabbi, life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in this one single room.
What can I do? The rabbi said to him, take your goat and put it in the room with you. And then a week later, come back to me. He was very upset about this advice that the rabbi gave him, but he went home and did as he was instructed. And he came back a week later, and he was even more distressed than what he was the week before.
He says, rabbi, I can't stand it. The goat is filthy and it stinks, and there's 10 of us in this room now. And so the rabbi said to him, now go home and put the goat outside and come back a week later. And so the man did that. And a week later, he came back and he was just overjoyed.
He says, life is so good. It's only the nine of us in the room. Yes. The point is, if you live for yourself and for your own pleasures, focusing on just the me and what I want and what I think is good, you will not know God's contentment. But if you follow Paul in living to serve the Saviour, you'll be content whether you have much or little.
Part of seeking God first and His kingdom first means serving Him with your money and your possessions, which is not yours really at all, but it is what He entrusted to you as a manager. You see, we make the mistake by thinking that we will be content when we have accumulated enough money and enough possessions to make your lives secure. Whereas the reality is that there's nothing secure in this life. The truth is you will know contentment when you give generously to the Lord's work, whether that is to world missions, to your local church, to meeting the needs of the poor through Christian ministries. Where your treasure is, your heart will be, says Jesus.
If your treasure is in this world, your heart will be in this world. And as we said before, this is not the most secure place at all. But if your treasure is in the kingdom of God, your heart will be there, and it's secure, and it's certain, and therein lies contentment. Thirdly, contentment comes from focusing on the Lord as the sufficient one in whom I must trust, knowing Jesus as my all sufficient one. Paul says that he had learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, of both having an abundance and suffering need.
The secret is stated in verse 13. I can do all things through Him or in Him who continually infuses me with strength. That's a bit of a literal translation. I'll read it again. I can do all things in Him who continually infuses me with strength.
The all sufficient indwelling Christ was Paul's source of strength and contentment. And since Christ cannot be taken from a believer, Jesus Christ cannot be taken away from you, you can lean on Him in every situation, doesn't matter how difficult. But see again notice again that there is a need to learn, not only to get along in times of need, but also to live well in times of abundance. You see, in times of need, we are tempted to get our eyes off the Lord Jesus Christ, and then we can get worn down. Things are hard.
If things are difficult, sometimes we get so worried and concerned about these circumstances that are so threatening or so depressing, and we get our focus off the Lord Jesus Christ, and then we can get worried and worn down. And that is when we need a trusting heart, to trust that even in these trying circumstances, Jesus Christ is sufficient. I don't need anything else. Then there's also times of abundance when as sinful human beings, it's so easy for us also to get our eyes off Jesus because life's too easy. And how often don't we see this in society these days where I'm sometimes wondering whether this Australian culture that was apparently, or I understand, built on Christian principles and a wonderful love for God and His principles.
But because this country is so blessed, there is a falling away from God altogether. And it happens in our personal lives too, doesn't it? Where things go well, and it's so easy to forget God. And that's when we need a thankful heart that daily acknowledges gratitude for God's provision. Thanking God for our daily bread even if we have got bread for many days in the bank.
Thanking Him for today's. You know, Paul says, by all things, I can do everything. And what he means is that he can do all things that God has called him to do in service of His kingdom. He can obey God. He can live in holiness, in thought, in word, and deed.
He can ask for the provisions needed to carry out the work that God has called him to do, and he can trust that God will provide it. If God has called you and me to speak in public, you can trust Him to provide you with what you need. If He has called you to serve behind the scenes, He will equip you with everything you need. If He has called you to give large amounts to further the work of His kingdom, He will provide you with those funds. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:8, God is able to make all grace abound to you that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.
We need to notice here the balance between God's part and our part. Some Christians put too much emphasis on I can do all things. And this verse has been so abused so many times of people trying to claim things of God, but for their own agenda, for their own motives. Now we need to see the balance here. People who want to move mountains, so to speak, claiming this verse, I can do all things, quite often lays too much claim on the human responsibility.
I've gotta do this. God says I can, so I have to do this. I can. I should be able to, so I have to achieve it and then end up burning out because they're trying to achieve things on their own strength. Others put too much emphasis on through Him who strengthens me.
These folks sit around passively, not earning anything because they don't want to be accused of acting in the flesh. But there is a biblical good balance to this which says, I can do it, but I can only do it by constant dependence on the power of Christ who dwells in me. I can do whatever God has called me to do for His kingdom only through the constant dependence on the power of Christ who dwells in me. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:10, by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain, but I laboured even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God in me. In Philippians 4:13 here, this verb is in the present tense, and it means God is continually day by day infusing me with strength as I serve Him.
Isn't that beautiful? Day by day, God is infusing me with strength as I serve Him. Unfortunately, in the Greek, in the NIV text here, the verse says, let's just, I can do everything through Him who gives me strength. Actually, the word through there should be in. I can do all things in Him.
And that in points us to that vital personal union with Christ that you and I should have and that we have seen repeatedly through this letter of the Philippians. Paul is saying that because of the living relationship of union with the living all sufficient Christ, he can do whatever the Lord calls him to do for His kingdom. And this verse is one of many verses in the Bible that affirms this very third point we have here, the sufficiency of Christ for the believer. Unfortunately, this truth that Christ is sufficient is under attack today. Not only from an antichrist world, but even from this so called Christian psychology.
They attack this doctrine of the sufficiency of Christ. They claim that Christ is sufficient, yes, for our spiritual needs, whatever that may mean, but not for our emotional needs. But if you look at the list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, look at the qualities of a godly person described there and throughout the whole New Testament, and you will find an emotional stable person. You are not equipped for every good deed if you're in an emotional wreck. The living Christ and His word are powerful to strengthen you to serve Him, which includes our emotional well-being.
But some misguided liberal churches today are selling out this joy of trusting in the all sufficient Christ for a mess of worldly mush that does not and can never satisfy. Whatever your needs, learn to trust daily in the Saviour, and you will know the contentment of Christ in your soul. Wanna close with this little story, a legend. If I understand the word legend right, it's just a story, it's not factual. So it just tries to make a point.
Legend about a wealthy merchant during Paul's day that heard about the apostle Paul who was in jail in Rome. And he was fascinated with the story of Paul and with this man Paul that he heard so much of. And so one day when he traveled through Rome, he decided that he's gonna try and meet up with this amazing man. And so he got in touch with Timothy who was with Paul and arranged with Timothy to meet up with Paul. And Timothy set the meeting up.
The man stepped inside the cell, and he was surprised to find the apostle Paul looking quite old and physically frail, but he could feel straight away the strength and the serenity and the magnetism of this man who relied on Christ for everything. And so they spent some time together there in Paul's prison cell, and then the guy left. Timothy took him outside. And when they got outside, this man asked Timothy, what's the secret of this man's power? I've never seen anything like it before, he said.
Timothy turned around and said, did you not guess? Paul is in love. And the merchant looked puzzled. In love? He asked.
Yes, said Timothy. Paul is in love with Jesus Christ. And the merchant looked even more puzzled and bewildered than before. And he said, is that all? And Timothy smiled and replied, that's everything.
That's the secret of contentment, to be captivated by Christ, brothers and sisters, as the sovereign Lord to whom I submit, as the Saviour to whom I serve, and as the sufficient one in whom I trust in every situation. May you truly also know contentment that comes from knowing the Lord Jesus Christ in this way. Amen.